Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Remember The Desert Princess? This is an 8 strand necklace of turquoise and lapis that I made a couple of years ago. I documented the process of making it here on my blog. To see the blog posts about the making of the necklace, just do a search of this blog using "desert princess". This is the necklace ... lots of turquoise and lapis!

It got plenty of attention, but didn't sell. SO .... I took it apart! Yes, yes I did! :) Now, it's going to be 2 necklaces instead of one. I have completed one of the necklaces. This is choker length. I tried making it a bit longer, but the strand reducers on each side need to be laying on the back of the neck, otherwise the reducers dig into the sides of the neck. I like the way it came out, it looks very regal!

The total length of the shortest strand including the clasp is a little over 14 inches. So you see, a real choker length.

The blue 8mm rondell beads are turquoise from the Kingman mine here in Arizona. The green turquoise is also from the Kingman mine. The lovely blue turquoise tear drop beads are from the Nacozari mine in Sonara, Mexico.

All of the metal is sterling silver.

A lovely southwest style! I'm happy with the outcome of this necklace. Now, I need to work on the other half of The Desert Princess!

This necklace is listed in my Etsy jewelry shop, just click here to see

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Yesterday morning Ray and I went to Sabino Canyon. We took the shuttle up to the top, and walked back down. It started out kind of cool at the top, but once we could get into the sun shine, it was warm enough. Plenty of folks out enjoying the canyon. Some just strolling along, some going at a good walking pace, others jogging. No bikes are allowed in the canyon after 7AM, and the only vehicles allowed are the shuttles (I think there are 4 of them). So it's nice walking.

Half way down Ray and I stopped for a snack at a concrete picnic table in a sunny spot a bit off the road. We were joined by this lovely fellow.

A beautiful male Northern Cardinal. He was very happy to pose for Ray's camera, so we shared our snacks with him. I shared my apple, and Ray shared some walnuts.

Here he is enjoying some walnuts. I was so busy watching him, I didn't realize how beautiful the rock he was on is until I saw this picture.

So we said goodbye to Mister Cardinal, and continued on down the road. A very pleasant Saturday morning walk!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Yes, sometimes we do have winter here in Tucson! Wednesday it actually SNOWED here. Big white soft flakes of wet snow! Covered and stuck to the ground for a couple of hours. Ray went out and took some pics ...

Desert photos by Ray Goodwin

The next morning the sun was shining, and there was still a little smattering of snow on our mountain (Golden Mt. in the Tucson Mountains).

Pretty!

Now, some soapy pictures. :)

A couple of beer soaps. Raspberry Wheat, made with Sharp Top Raspberry Wheat beer, scented with just a touch of Black Raspberry Vanilla fragrance oil.

I did manage to get to the Tucson Gem Show last week. I went with 2 things on my mind .... turquoise and pearls. For the turquoise, I went to the vendor that sells turquoise from the Kingman mine, which is located in northern Arizona. I just got a few strands for a couple of projects.

And then headed right for TA Pearls, and got just a few strands of round white freshwater pearls.